


aspen

by sunflower_8



Series: komahina week 2020 ! [5]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I Just Think Dryad Komaeda Is Pretty, M/M, Nightmares, Nymphs & Dryads, Self-Hatred, Sunflower_8 Does Not Know How To Write Fantasy, What The Fuck Is A Tree, lack of self preservation, please understand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower_8/pseuds/sunflower_8
Summary: his tree will die, as will he, and he’ll be powerless to stop it.the hope of the forest’s survival will die with him.it’s enough to try and get up again. except, this time, something else stops him. he feels warmth on his arm, unusual and unfamiliar, and he hears a soothing voice say, “hey, you’re awake.”(or, a dryad tries desperately to save his forest and, in turn, is saved by a human)
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Series: komahina week 2020 ! [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713769
Comments: 11
Kudos: 88
Collections: KomaHina Week 2020





	aspen

running.

he doesn’t know where he is, what part of the forest he found himself in, but he can’t stop running.

there’s an ache in his chest, growing worse with every heartbeat of his chlorophyll heart. his legs are cut and bruised, the lacerations spilling blood in the sacred woods. his eyes are filled with tears, black smudges keeping him from seeing what’s in front of him. despite the exhaustion filled his veins, the burning of his lungs as he forces himself to keep moving, he knows he can’t stop. 

if he does, he will collapse. if he collapses,  _ they _ will cut down the tree.

he’s familiar with the people who search the woods for fae, desiring to leech magic from the trees and rivers and killing those who oppose them. he’s never tried to fight against them-- the tree his lifeforce is tied to is usually left alone-- but his luck ran out. slowly, deforestation has settled in as an uncomfortable reality, and his tree is next.

it’s an aspen tree to most humans, but the magic it carries is potent. instead of yellow leaves atop white bark, there’s a thick canopy of violet, held up by a trunk that shines a metallic shade of periwinkle in the moonlight. when he was born, he was laying beside that tree, the plant he must protect with his life. if he fails to save it, after all, he will die,

but, more importantly, the magic of the forest will dwindle, and the woods will be left vulnerable to all attacks.

and thus, he has to keep moving. even when he feels another cut against his leg, his vision briefly going white as his head is overcome with pain, but he uses the trees to push him through. as he tears through, he feels the tell-tale signs of insanity at the brink of life-- the sound of voices, a rising cacophony above his dizziness. the voices are human and determined, stronger than his. 

despite his best efforts, he eventually succumbs to the pain, his body sinking into the dirt as he falls. it must create an echo-- he hears dryads around him rushing, their footsteps as light as can be to protect themselves, but in the end, nobody comes. the aspen tree is important, but the healing sage and the powerful oaks must be saved, too. 

he expects to be left to die, his blood staining the dirt and grass a dark shade of gold, but he suddenly hears the beat of faster footsteps, roaring louder than the scattered thoughts in his head. he’s barely beyond fighting, writhing in the grasp as the creature picks him up before surrendering to the warmth. the wind rushes past him as his capturer runs, out of the heart of the forest to the edge.

he wants to fight, wants to get away and save his tree. but soon, the pain is all he can feel, and he succumbs to the dark void of unconsciousness.

\--

_ the aspen tree, eternal and filled with magic, marred at the hands of greedy humans, taking that beauty away. clear as day, he sees the cuts in the bark, jagged and deep as the tree teeters. it’s close to death, like the trees that came before it, and the darkness that will come after it’s destruction is palpable, is terrifying. it must be saved.  _

_ “komaeda!”  _

_ the woods call his name, despairing and desperate, a melancholic language.  _

_ he has to go home. he has to save the forest. _

\--

when he wakes up, he’s filled with panic and determination. he tries to use his arms to push himself up, but he immediately falls back down onto the warm surface he’s been laid on, unable to move or escape. he knows how this ends, the chase and the capture, and he still feels the dull throbbing of pain. his tree will die, as will he, and he’ll be powerless to stop it.

the hope of the forest’s survival will die with him.

it’s enough to try and get up again. except, this time, something else stops him. he feels warmth on his arm, unusual and unfamiliar, and he hears a soothing voice say, “hey, you’re awake.”

he flickers his eyes to the source of the sound and is faced with a human. his hair is tawny-colored and tostled, his eyes a golden shade of green. he’s tan and strong, and he has a pleasant smile on his face. disregarding the smile, the feigned kindness and hospitality, it’s clear that this man must have been cutting down the aspen. why else would he find him?

although… it is peculiar that the human saved his life. additionally, the fact that the human can speak the language of the fae… however, it’s likely a disguised attempt to steal his magic away. he will not be foolish. he can’t afford to be.

he fights the grip the stranger has on his arm, letting out an uncontrollable cry. the human shushes him, releasing his hold and raising his hands in front of him. he’s far away. good. now all he has left to do is to escape, to go to the forest. he tries to use his legs to sit up, but finds them too hurt to move. the human has a response to this as well, murmuring in a soft voice, “you’re hurt. you have to stay here.”

he shakes his head, his body aching at the sudden movement, and he tries to speak. he finds that his voice is lost, but he forces his throat to desperately say, “t… th-the… t-tree…!”

“easy,” the stranger slowly moves his hand to a piece of furniture, brandishing some healing leaves and tonic. he registers vague surprise that a non-fae has this material, and he finds himself listening to the other. “take this. if you rest and allow your cuts to heal, you should be fine in a few days.”

“m-my t-tree-” he gasps out.

“your tree is safe.” he reassures warmly. “the people harming it were driven away by other fae. it’s damaged, as are you, but both can heal.”

he narrows his eyebrows, accepting the medicine before asking faintly, “wh-who a-are y-you?”

“hinata hajime,” he says easily. a name lacking explanation. he tilts his head, and hinata sighs before continuing. “you’re probably wondering why i helped you and why i can speak your language. my brother and i have always had the innate ability to learn the language of the fae. he’s used it to reside in the forest, somewhere isolated, and stay distant from everything. i’ve always lived here, eager to help, especially since…” he sighs again, a sad sound. “i’ve seen humans destroying the forest, and i feel powerless. i do my best to nurse dryads to health… but i often fail. thankfully, your tree is safe, so i hope you’ll be okay too.”

“i… will b-be,” he attests, the medicinal plants easing his pain and allowing him the strength to talk. “if the tree is s-safe… so am i.”

hinata’s eyes fill with a nebulous fog of dark emotion, and he replies coolly, “that is not always the case. the bond between a dryad and a tree is absolute, but there are situations where a dryad can die, even if their tree is alive. it’s a matter of magic and how deeply both have been hurt.”

  1. he manages a smile, hoping his savior’s eyes will fill with ease once again. “that’s fine. even i-if i die, i would accept it as long as my t-tree is safe. the f-forest is s-safe. that is a-all i could hope for.”



“well, i’m not going to let you die, so don’t worry about all that.” hinata says persistently. “you should get some rest. you weren’t asleep for all that long.” 

he obediently lays against the bed, smiling at hinata as the human covers him with a thin sheet. he closes his eyes, but before he can sleep, hinata asks, “what’s your name, by the way?”

he hesitates. he hasn’t been called by a name for a long time, being referred to as aspen in the rare times someone speaks to him. however, the name calling out to him in his dream, the unfamiliar characters attributed to him… “komaeda.”

hinata’s lips lift. “nice to meet you, komaeda. you should get some rest, now.”

and so, for the second time that day, he fell into a deep unconscious.

\--

_ he can feel the shift, the rift in the forest. the magic previously humming in the air is silent, and the gentle chirping of sacred birds is lacking. the trees around him are barren, the woods stripped, and every plant has been scarred-- burnt, chopped, or scraped. something is wrong. something is horribly wrong. he had never expected this day to come so soon, where he would face his home lacking magic completely. vulnerable. empty. _

_ suddenly, the ground thrums beneath him, and he falls. in the scorched canopies, smothering him, he hears a vengeful call. “komaeda!” _

_ “no,” he whispers under his breath, the scent of smoke making him choke. he curls into a ball as he cries, “no!” _

_ “the aspen is dead,” the forest informs him, “and you could not save it. the woods are dead because of you!” _

_ “why am i still alive?” he begins to plead, “end my existence! there’s nothing here; i should have died with the tree, why am i still here?” _

_ “you’re cursed to wander the forest you failed,” comes the reply. “you will step on the ashes of the trees and dryads you loved with hopeful affections, the very same creatures you betrayed. and someday, when you finally see all that you have caused, have ended, you will incinerate, fading beside the bark of your faithful tree. sage will consume your heart and the carcasses of dead birds will eat away your skin. you have destroyed the sacred woods. you must suffer.” _

_ and everything goes black. _

\--

“komaeda!”

he comes to, feeling tears made of sacred water and chlorophyll streaming down his face as he writhes. his body aches, and he feels the warm presence of blood, but he can hardly focus enough to calm down. he can’t breathe, blinded by his self-hatred and fear, desperate to crawl back to the forest to see that it’s still there. it  _ has  _ to still be there, because he couldn’t have failed it, he couldn’t have-

“komaeda, look at me.”

he stills, shivering as he’s plagued with an unwelcome cold, and he looks at his companion. hinata’s expression is filled with worry and concern, as is his voice. “komaeda, everything is alright. it was just a nightmare. you’re safe, and the forest is too.”

he suddenly flings himself into the other’s arms, his body protesting as he desperately clings to his clothes. he sobs, broken and choked, as hinata immediately holds him back, stroking his hair and mumbling against his temple soothing words. he fights to be able to say, “t-the f-forest, i-it was  _ dead _ , a-and it w-was my f-fault, it’s a-all my  _ fault _ !”

“none of that happened,” he cries and shakes as hinata speaks to him in a calm voice. “you’re safe. the forest is protected. everything is okay-”

“i must suffer,” he gasps out, recalling the dream, the woods that never lie. “ _ i must suffer _ .”

“you don’t deserve to suffer,” hinata presses his lips to his forehead, and the soothing warmth of it makes his shoulders less tense. still, he can’t breathe with the presence of the dream against his chest, the contempt of the forest. “cry it out. i’m here.”

“w-why  _ are  _ y-you here?” he sputters out. “not e-even other d-dryads like m-me. w-which is un-understandable, i-”

“because you’re caring and protective, to the point of sheer selflessness, over your forest, and that’s telling. you don’t care for your later gain, you care because you want to. so you’re a pretty cool person. also, though i haven’t known you for long, you’re nice company.” his face turns a color similar to poppies as he says, “you’re also very pretty. but that isn’t very helpful right now so i’ll shut up and never speak again.”

“y-you’re so kind,” he whispers, nestling into the warmth of hinata’s neck as his tears slowly stop running. “so, so kind. my savior.”

his face flushes more. “uh. thanks. you should get some water now, though. here, i’ll grab you some-” he shakes his head, nuzzling hinata’s chest. hinata slowly hugs him tighter, adjusting himself so he’s lying against the wall while the other cuddles him. “alright then, just for a little longer.” hinata tenses for a brief moment before kissing the dryad’s head again, earning a quiet, raspy giggle. “heh. thanks, ko.”

“for what?” he asks, his voice muffled by hinata’s shirt.

“... nothing,” hinata replies, his voice lacking the sadness for him to be seriously concerned. instead, there’s a warmth there, something akin to the feeling of hope beyond despair, reminiscent of the feeling of peace in the woods. it’s a safety he found in hinata, breaking through his pain to offer good luck, fortune, protection, like the aspen is always supposed to ensure.

his forest is safe. his tree is safe. hinata is safe. he is safe.

(he doesn’t think he’s ever been happier.)

**Author's Note:**

> fantasy au | healing | hope
> 
> i think i did okay here! if you ignore the fact that i can't write au because pacing and world-building and all that kind of vital things to writing an au.
> 
> ehe 
> 
> um, that's all for today i think! i hope this was satisfactory.


End file.
